Numinous

by ELSON, H.A. | Category: N/a | Feb 2008

My three Canadian grandchildren recently came across a new word. A puzzle required us to think of as many words as possible starting in 'num'. Of course, most of the words had to do with numerical things like numbers and numbering, but the suitable words we found were not very numerous. If you couldn't get beyond about twelve, you were rather a numskull! Eventually we came up with the rare word numinous; it was www.Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' on 23 August 2002. So, what does it mean?

Merriam-Webster's dictionary has, 'Holy: filled with a sense of the divine presence'. Thesaurus synonyms are sacred, supernatural, spiritual, sublime. Numinous was first coined by a German theologian, Rudolf Otto, to describe 'a sense of awe-inspiring wonder, where one senses the presence of God' (1)

You won't find the word numinous in the Bible, but its meaning can be discovered in many places in the Scriptures. It instils awe, reverence, godly fear and worship. During 2006, these same grandchildren visited the old reading room in my village; the inscription above its door reads, �The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom� (Ps. 111:10). Verse 9 says, �holy and awesome [i.e. numinous] is His name.�

One of the boys' names is Jacob. We read in Genesis 28:16-17: �Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it ... How awesome is this place! ... the house of God � the gate of heaven!"� This is the first mention of the house of God in our Bibles; Jacob recognised this special place and discovered the numinous � 'awe-inspiring' � wonder in the presence of God.

Jacob arrived after dark at Luz and, having nowhere to stay, slept out under the sky. Selecting a stone for his head, he lay down to sleep. He was restless with such a hard pillow, and had a remarkable dream! The ladder he saw reached from earth to heaven and angels were passing up and down it. The God of his forbears, Abraham and Isaac, made great promises to him from the top, and Jacob sensed the awesome divine presence � the numinous! The stone pillow became a pillar of Bethel � the house of God.

So it has been down through the years as God has revealed Himself to his own. Joshua experienced it: �"the LORD your God is with you"� (Josh. 1:9). �In Your presence is fullness of joy�, sang David at the end of Psalm 16. Isaiah was greatly moved by it as he �saw the Lord ... high and lifted up� and heard the cry that shook the doorposts, �"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts,"� and received His important commission (6:1-4). Daniel opened his prayer, �"O Lord, great and awesome God,"� and the vision he saw later left no strength remaining in him (9:4; 10:8).

Turning to the New Testament, we are impressed by the testimony of John (1:14) �the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.� The presence of deity on earth is clear: He (the Son) has declared Him (the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ). �"They shall call His name Immanuel ... God with us"� (Mat. 1:23). Later John records the effect of being in His presence on the Lord's Day: �I fell at His feet as dead� (Rev. 1:17). The apostles and saints in the early churches of God had a strong and pervading sense of the numinous, which engendered godly fear (Acts 2:43).

Sometimes, as we worship in God's holy presence on a Lord's Day morning, we sing,

Here to our hearts Thyself reveal,

And all assembled cause to feel

The presence of our God (J.Walker)

� the numinous! �Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire� (Heb. 12:28-29).

Bible quotations from NKJV.

(1) Glossary of Religious Words and Terms - www.fitzwimarc.org.uk

ELSON, H.A. | Feb 2008
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